Joanna
by Whovian-Trekkie
Summary: What if Joanna McCoy had been created earlier on during the Original Series?


**A/N**: This doesn't have a set time period but imagine if Joanna was in the first season and served on the Enterprise. Edited by Insert-Dreams.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Leonard McCoy woke with a stir. As he quickly came to, he realized it was the intercom buzzing. He turned it on and a voice came through the speaker. A voice belonging to his commanding officer and personal friend, James T. Kirk.

"Bones, I need you to come to my quarters. I have urgent news."

"What is it ?" asked McCoy.

Kirk said "It's not something to be discussed over an open comm channel. Please, come as quickly as possible."

"Fine, give me ten minutes, McCoy out." As he closed the channel and got dressed, McCoy began to wonder what was so urgent that Jim had woken him so early. He arrived at the captain's quarters and pressed the buzzer. As the door opened, he noticed that the captain was joined by his first officer, Spock. McCoy entered the room and sat down, looking at Kirk and Spock. They were the closest friends he'd ever had. Kirk sat down at his desk, with a grim look on his face.

"Now, what in blazes is going on, Jim?" McCoy asked.

"Bones, I've just had a message come through from Starfleet Headquarters. You know about the civil war on Erani 2. The Federation sent them medical aid and there's been an incident."

McCoy looked at Kirk and Spock with perplexed eyes. Yes, he knew about the war on Erani, but couldn't see any relevance... Until he remembered who had been part of the medical team sent there...

"We've only gotten an initial report on the incident. But it seems that a legion of separatists stormed a half blown up building while a group of 'Fleet doctors were in there, treating wounded civilians." Kirk said.

McCoy was hit with a wave of anxiety and he failed at trying to hide it.

"That group of doctors ended up having to fight the separatists hand to hand. They suffered few casualties but many of them were critically injured. Unfortunately, one Lieutenant Joanna McCoy was among the critically wounded."

McCoy suddenly rose and turned away from his friends.

"Bones, I cannot imagine how you must feel. But I do feel the utmost sorrow for Joanna and anger for what has happened to her." said Kirk "I know you care about her more than any other person in the universe."

Kirk rose and put a reassuring hand on his friend shoulder. "She's at Starbase 8 for recuperation. It's directly in our patrol zone and we need to stop there for shore leave. Spend it with her."

McCoy closed his eyes as a tear ran down his face. "Thank you for telling me yourself. I don't know how I would've taken it if I had heard it over a comm link."

"Captain if we accelerate to Warp 6, we'll be in transporter range of Starbase 8 in 10.4 hours." said Spock. "Make it an order, Mr. Spock" said Kirk.

"Bones, you can take the day off and wait until we get to Starbase 8, if you wish" Kirk asked. "No, I'd rather take the shift. It'll keep me occupied. Thanks for the offer, though." said McCoy. "Ok. Whatever you think is best." said Kirk.

Spock looked at both Kirk and McCoy and even though he did not show emotion, he could feel how upset McCoy was.

"Doctor, even though I do not personally know your daughter, her accomplishments are well known throughout Starfleet. She's a very gifted doctor and researcher. I would find it quite interesting to talk with her one day. Her absence is a considerable loss to the Starfleet Medical Corps." said Spock.

"Never thought I'd live to see the day when a Vulcan congratulated my offspring" said McCoy, teasingly.

"You'd be surprised at how much she knows. Not only is she an accomplished doctor, but an amateur engineer and physicist as well."

"Really, I don't recall reading that in her service record" said Spock.

"Kid has a lot of hobbies for someone her age." said McCoy.

"I think I'll return to my quarters until it's time for my shift."

00000000

McCoy returned to his cabin and as the door closed, he picked up the picture of Joanna from his desk and clutched it to his chest. Then, he fell to the floor, crying. It was true, that even though they had not actually seen each other in so long, the bond between father and child was as strong as ever. He often felt that he had failed her as a father because he ran away to Starfleet. It was because of his service, that he lost custody of Joanna. But he and Jocelyn managed to agree that it would serve Joanna best if she were raised by her aunt and uncle on Centaurus. McCoy cried for what seemed like hours until the computer alarm clock went off. He picked himself up, wondering how he would make it through the day. When he entered sickbay, he was greeted by Christine Chapel, his head nurse and the closest female friend he had on the Enterprise.

"Good Morning, Doctor" she said with a grim look on her face.

"Good Morning, Nurse" said McCoy without looking up. As he sat down at his desk, she handed him a data slate to look over and just before she left, she whispered to him

"I've only just heard about Joanna. I am so sorry, Leonard."

"Thank you, Chris, I really appreciate the concern." He said, half-heartedly smiling.

"Captain said she is at Starbase 8 for recovery and that it's right in our patrol zone. We're heading there now."

"She's a brave woman, doing what she did. Brave just like her father." said Chapel. McCoy and Chapel had worked together for so long, that they had come to care for each other a great deal.

*Comm Whistle* "_Dr. McCoy, please report to transporter room. Repeat: Dr. McCoy to transporter room_"

As McCoy headed to the transporter, he was joined by the captain and Spock.

"What are you doing here?" asked McCoy.

"I need to have a talk with Commodore Robinson." said Kirk.

"Set transporter controls to Starbase 8's headquarters."

"Aye, sir" said Lt. Kyle.

For once, McCoy was not concerned about the transporter malfunctioning. All he had on his mind was Joanna and how happy it would be to see her again. Even in the worst of situations, she always managed to give people hope and see the silver lining. But he was also dreading it slightly because he didn't know the extent of her injuries. Any parent hates seeing their child hurt and the feeling didn't exclude McCoy.

They arrived in the transporter room in Starbase 8's HQ. McCoy then bid the captain and first officer good bye and set off to the hospital. As he entered the lobby, he walked up to the desk where an Andorian nurse was working.

"Good afternoon, I'm looking for a patient here."

"What the patient's full name and or rank, please?" said the Andorian.

"Lieutenant Joanna Elizabeth McCoy." said McCoy.

"Are you next of kin or friend" said the Andorian.

"I'm her father, Lt. Commander Leonard Horatio McCoy. _USS Enterprise_"

"Give me moment, please." said the Andorian as she pulled up patient records.

"Ah, yes. She's in ward 5. You may go up and see her now."

"Thank you, ma'Am." and he walked towards the lifts. During the very uncomfortable silence, his mind began to wander.

From what the nurse had said, it seemed like Joanna may not be in as critical condition as he thought. When he had been told the initial news, he figured she would immediately be sent to Intensive Care. Finally, the lift stopped and the doors opened to reveal a standard looking hospital ward. He was then greeted by the head nurse on duty.

"Good afternoon, I'm Nurse Oritani. Is there a patient here you wish to see?"

"Yes, Lt. Joanna McCoy. I'm her father, I was told by the nurse in the lobby she was here." said McCoy.

"Ah, yes, she is indeed. Ever since she was told that you were going to be here, she's been absolutely thrilled. Please, follow me" said Oritani with a beaming smile.

*_Ok, this is good. She doesn't have any probable memory loss cause she remembers me_* McCoy thought as they walked toward an open terrace.

He saw someone sitting in chair with a book in their lap. Oritani knelt down and whispered in to their ear and then motioned for McCoy to walk over. He trembled slightly as he walked but then he came face to face with Joanna. He was completely awash with joy and relief. Joanna rose slowly with Oritani's help and then hugged her father with all the strength she could muster. He quickly returned it while he put his hand on her head and patting it slightly. He whispered to her tearfully, "Hiya, squirt".

"Hiya, papa" she whispered right back. McCoy held on to his child as long as he could when it suddenly felt like Joanna was about to collapse. He helped her into her chair and sat down next to her.

"Well, now I guess you're wondering why I'm here and how badly I got banged up." she said.

"Yes, all I was told that you and several other people were injured badly in an ambush." said McCoy.

"That's exactly what happened too. The reason we were ambushed in the first place was because of the separatists. They had begun to plant bombs in various places to scare the people. It worked for the most part until the bombs began to take civilian lives. After a while, people started taking refuge in abandoned governmental buildings." said Joanna.

"Typical of any government, save the high ranking people first." McCoy said slightly annoyed.

"Almost 300 people had taken up refuge in what used to the city council chambers. The initial bombing blew half the building off; luckily, no one was killed in the blast. We beamed down immediately to help the wounded when a group of separatists stormed the place. We had to turn into foot soldiers within seconds." said Joanna.

McCoy couldn't help the sense of rage quickly growing inside him. It was like Ssan all over again.

Joanna continued with her story,"I fought off at least 12 of the bastards myself. Making sure not to kill anyone, any loss of life is a waste. Then, out of nowhere, a sonic grenade goes off right in front of me. Blast was so strong that it put me through a half destroyed wall. Which then proceeded to fall….."

She trailed off the last sentence like she had trouble remembering the incident or didn't want to say. She then took McCoy's hand in her own "I don't remember much until I woke up in sickbay on the _Thompson_. When I did come to, the CMO had a talk with me about my injuries. Turns out, I broke 3 ribs, my left femur, several fingers, had cuts and bruises everywhere, had to have 4 vertebrae replaced in my back, and… and" she trailed off again, almost in tears about it.

"What is it? You can tell me, honey. It's ok" said McCoy, attempting to be reassuring. Joanna then began to rub her left arm and began to cry when McCoy realized what she wasn't telling him. He then looked up at Oritani who was trying to calm Joanna down as well.

Oritani then took McCoy to the side and told him, "Her left arm was crushed when the wall fell. The security teams didn't find her for almost 2 days and it atrophied from blood loss. The doctors on the _Thompson_ didn't have enough alpha-dextran to treat the wound, so they had to amputate it. I'm so sorry Doctor, they did honestly try everything they could. She was lucky to have only lost that. She lost almost 75% of her blood when she was found" Oritani said.

"So, were you able to fit a prosthetic to her?" said McCoy, now almost in tears himself.

"Yes, and surprisingly it's one your daughter had previously designed for other amputees. It functions with the same dexterity as her previous limb did, but instead of an organic skeletal structure, it has a duranium core. We took samples of muscle, ligaments, nerves and skin to grow copies for the prosthetic. And they took very well. She'll have a full recovery from this, I assure you" said Oritani.

McCoy then sat back down with Joanna and tearfully smiled at her "You'll be ok, sweetie." and he again hugged her.

"Well, enough with the depressing stuff guess what?" she said.

"What can it possibly be" McCoy said in mock shock.

"Commodore Robinson visited me personally yesterday to tell me I'm a Medal of Bravery nominee. How cool is that?!" she said, almost jumping from her chair. McCoy couldn't help but feel an enormous sense of pride for her. Not many people were able to win the Medal of Bravery due to that fact it was, more or less, a wartime honor and since the Federation tried to avert universal war, it almost seemed redundant.

Suddenly, Kirk and Spock ran up to McCoy, "Bones, we need to go. There's been an attack on the neutral zone border!" spoke Kirk frantically.

"Fine, just let me say goodbye, please." said McCoy, very annoyed this time.

He knelt down to Joanna and spoke "I've got to go, I'm sorry honey. I'll contact you as soon as I can. I love you very much."

"It's fine, go to your post, Doctor. I love you too, Papa." said Joanna. McCoy lent forward and kissed Joanna on the forehead and was shuffled away with Kirk and Spock.

000000000

It had been almost 2 months since Joanna had been rescued. She had had a slow, painful recovery but was projected to return to full active duty soon. During her last physical therapy session, Commodore Robinson came to see her.

"I've got wonderful news for you, Lieutenant. Your transfer request to the _USS Enterprise_ has been accepted. Apparently, the commander of Starfleet approved it personally."

"Wha…. Wow. How the hell did the Commander of Starfleet find out about my request? Pardon my language, sir."

"It seems that you have a friend with high connections at Starfeet Headquarters. Congratulations on your appointment, Lieutenant."

_*Wow, this is big*_ "I'm completely honored, sir. Thank you for telling me personally. I have a question for you."

"Ask away" said Robinson.

"How should I tell my father?" Joanna asked.

"Maybe you should just tell him when report for duty" said Robinson.

"Sir, I do believe you've just given me an idea" said Joanna with a mischievous grin on her face.

As he left the room, Joanna started to wonder who had sent her request to the head of Starfleet. Sure, everybody probably knew about what happened on Erani, but didn't know it had struck home that hard. After she left the last session, she returned to the apartment given to her, to find a message waiting for was from her sponsor at the Academy and an old friend of her father's, Rear Admiral William Canales. Since her father's service in Starfleet kept him in deep space, he called on Canales to sponsor and keep her safe at the Academy. Canales had become somewhat of a surrogate father to her.

The message began to play,

"_Joanna, if you're watching this, hopefully, you've been informed that your transfer request was accepted. And you're probably wondering why the head of Starfleet personally approved it. I found out about your request to serve on the Enterprise and knew how much you wanted to work with your father. I went to the Commander to ask for a personal favor. When I said your name, it turns out that I didn't need to ask for a favor. The ambassador to Erani and her son, were among the people you saved when the surprise attack happened. The ambassador and her son, are in fact, the wife and son of the Commander. He said he's gratefully indebted to the doctor who saved his family and would do anything to repay them. I told him of your request and why you wanted it and he quickly approved it. I told him I was close to you and he said 'Tell her I said thank you for saving my family. They're the most important thing in the universe to me and if I can give her the chance to be with her family, I'll whatever I can to make it happen.' I hope your father is as proud of you as I am. And if I know him half as well as I did in med school, I know he is. I wish you all the best, Jo. Say hi to your dad for me._" Joanna couldn't believe what she had heard

*_Oh, man. Wait till Dad hears about this one, now I'll never get him to stop bragging*_ She quickly recorded a message of thanks to Billy and then the intercom buzzed. She answered it and Commodore Robinson's secretary, Commander Heather Strong came on the screen, "Hiya, Jo!" She and Heather had been roommates at the Academy and remained friends after graduation.

"What's happening in your neck of the woods, good buddy?" said Joanna with her natural southern twang.

"Not much, just called to let you know your ship out date. _Enterprise_ is scheduled to be here in about 3 days, so get your crap together." said Heather, chuckling slightly.

"Well, alrighty then, thanks for letting me know, see ya later." said Joanna.

"See ya, girl. Gonna miss you this time." said Heather.

Joanna closed the link and immediately began packing.

0000000

McCoy kept pacing around his office. He knew the Enterprise was returning to Starbase 8 to pick up new replacement crewmembers. He was also expecting a new doctor to join the sickbay staff. What was really eating at him, was the fact that Joanna hadn't contacted him to let him know of her recovery. And he was told by the captain that he wouldn't be able to leave the ship and see her. And he didn't know the identity of the new doctor coming on board. He finally clicked on the intercom and called up to the bridge.

"Have we arrived at Starbase 8 yet?" he asked sternly.

"No, Bones. You'll be the first to know when we do, Kirk out." Chris Chapel came in after her rounds and handed McCoy a data slate to look over.

"It's damn irregular for Starfleet to assign a new crewmember to the ship and then keep their identity secret."

"Maybe it's really a high profile member of the Federation that needs to be kept secret until we know where to take them. It's not the first time we've had to be couriers for ambassadors." said Chris.

"I know, but I just hate being kept in the dark." said McCoy.

Kirk sat at the conn awaiting the _Enterprise_'s arrival at Starbase 8. The _Enterprise _was expecting security replacements and one new sickbay staff member, but unbeknownst to his Chief Medical Officer, the new doctor was in fact, Joanna McCoy, now fully reinstated to active duty. Joanna had contacted Kirk days ago to ask if he could keep her transfer to the _Enterprise_ secret from her father. She called it "_the biggest practical prank ever pulled_". Kirk more than happily accepted the challenge, not wanting to miss the look of surprise on Bones' face.

"Approaching Starbase 8, Captain, we'll be within beaming range shortly" said helmsman Lt. Hikaru Sulu.

"Standard orbit, please, Mr. Sulu" said Kirk.

"Sir, message coming through from Starbase 8, it's Commodore Robinson." Said Lt. Nyota Uhura.

"On audio, please, Lieutenant." Said Kirk. "Aye, sir. On audio now, sir"

"_Captain Kirk, Commodore Robinson here. Crew replacements ready to beam up at your signal._"

"Send coordinates to transporter room and beam them up when ready, Kirk out."

"Transporter room, beam up crewmembers now" said Kirk.

"Aye, sir. Bringin' them up now" said Lt. Commander Montgomery Scott.

"Mr. Spock, if you join me to the transporter room. There's someone we need to greet" said Kirk.

As they entered the turbolift, Kirk explained who they were going to meet.

"Joanna McCoy is joining our crew. Only catch is, Bones doesn't know about it. She asked me if it'd be possible to keep her appointment secret until she arrived to tell him herself" said Kirk.

"I don't believe I'll ever truly understand the human need for surprise. But it seems that she has inherited her father's ability for it" said Spock.

"I can understand why she would want to surprise him. They've been apart for so long and she has fully recovered. Our sudden departure was less then sweet for both of them" said Kirk. The turbolift stopped and they exited to head toward the transporter room.

There stood Scotty, "Just beaming up the last crewman now". Joanna McCoy materialized in front of them. As she saw the Captain, she immediately stood to attention.

"At ease, Lieutenant McCoy." From behind, Kirk could hear Scotty let out a small gasp and Kirk fought the urge to start giggling. When Joanna came down the few steps from the transporter, she held up the Vulcan salute to Spock and said "Live long and prosper, Mr. Spock." Although Joanna couldn't see it, Kirk could tell that Spock was impressed by Joanna's knowledge of Vulcan tradition. Spock returned the salute with the phrase, "Prosper and long life, Lt. McCoy".

Joanna then turned her attention back to Kirk, "So, were you able to keep my father in the dark?"

"Surprisingly enough, yes. I didn't think we'd be able to keep anything from him, he's quite persistent" said Kirk, teasingly.

"He always has been. You know he's going to hate me for pulling this prank of him, but the fact that I'm here and going to be working with him should counteract it" said Joanna with a beaming grin.

"Well, I guess we had better escort you to sickbay. I wouldn't miss this for the world cause the look on Bones' face is going to be priceless" said Kirk, half laughing.

The three of them walked to sickbay conversing quietly when Joanna stopped short.

"Just had another idea, you two should walk in first, hiding me behind you. Trust me, I'm small enough for it work" said Joanna.

Kirk winked at her and Spock shook his head in agreement. They walked in to McCoy's slight annoyance, "Has the last crewman beamed aboard yet?"

"Why don't you ask her yourself, Bones?" said Kirk. As Kirk and Spock parted, Joanna jumped out from behind them and shouted

"Hiya, dad!" McCoy almost collapsed to the floor in shock and spoke "You're….. You're my new staff member?"

"I most certainly am, Commander of Starfleet himself approved it. Please tell me you're happy about it?" said Joanna with a twinge of fear in her voice.

"Oh, honey. I couldn't be any happier then right now." And McCoy rushed over and gathered up his little girl. At last they were together again…..

And he was loving every minute of it

000000000

"**I'd wanted to be a Doctor but couldn't ~ yet i became the best known Doctor in the galaxy**" (DeForest Kelley)

"**Courage isn't a matter of being afraid. It's being afraid and doing what you have to do**" (The Third Doctor)


End file.
